| **Basis Of Presentation**                                                           | 3 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
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| **Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| Basis Of Presentation                                                               | BASIS OF PRESENTATIONPrinciples of Consolidation: The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of St. Jude Medical, Inc. (St. Jude Medical or the Company) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary to present a fair statement of the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Operating results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. Preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements and footnotes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2012 (2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K).The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries and entities for which St. Jude Medical has a controlling financial interest. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. For variable interest entities (VIEs), the Company assesses the terms of its interest in the entity to determine if St. Jude Medical is the primary beneficiary. Variable interests are ownership, contractual, or other interests in an entity that change with increases or decreases in the fair value of the entity's net assets excluding variable interests. The entity that consolidates the VIE, is considered the primary beneficiary, and is defined as the party with (1) the power to direct activities of the VIE that most significantly affect the VIE's economic performance and (2) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE. In the first quarter of 2013, the Company determined that CardioMEMS, Inc. (CardioMEMS) was a VIE for which the Company is now the primary beneficiary and began consolidating their results (see Note 2).On August 30, 2012, the Company announced the realignment of its product divisions into two new business units (or divisions): the Implantable Electronic Systems Division (IESD) (combining its legacy Cardiac Rhythm Management and Neuromodulation product divisions) and the Cardiovascular and Ablation Technologies Division (CATD) (combining its legacy Cardiovascular and Atrial Fibrillation product divisions). In addition, the Company centralized certain support functions, including information technology, human resources, legal, business development and certain marketing functions. The organizational changes were part of a comprehensive plan to accelerate our growth, reduce costs, leverage economies of scale and increase investment in product development. The Company began reporting under the new organizational structure as of the beginning of fiscal year 2013. As a result, certain prior period amounts have been recast to conform to the Company's new organizational structure in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. See Note 14 for further information on the Company's segments. New Accounting Pronouncements: In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2013-02: Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2013-02), an update to Comprehensive Income (Topic 220). ASU 2013-02 requires an entity to present either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes to the financial statements, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items in the statement presenting net income. Additionally, disclosures about the changes in each component of accumulated other comprehensive income are also required. ASU 2013-02 requires prospective application and is effective for all fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The Company adopted ASU 2013-02 in the first quarter of 2013 and there was no impact to the Company's financial statements. Refer to Note 9 for the Company's new disclosures required by ASU 2013-02. |

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The entire disclosure for organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure.
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